English Past Simple Tense

• The English past simple is for actions that began and ended at a specific time.

Forming the Past Simple

• Past simple form depends if a verb is regular or irregular.

Regular Verbs

• The past simple is formed by adding "-ed" to the base form of regular verbs.
• Add only "-d" if the verb ends in "-e".
• Double the last consonant before adding "-ed" if the verb ends in consonant-vowel-consonant (except if the last consonant is "w", "x", or "y").

Regular Verb Examples

• Work: Worked (Trabajar: Trabajó)
• Play: Played (Jugar: Jugó)
• Like: Liked (Gustar: Gustó)
• Stop: Stopped (Parar: Paró)
• Travel: Travelled (Viajar: Viajó)

Irregular Verbs

• Irregular verbs have different past simple forms and don't follow the "-ed" rule.
• These verbs must be memorized.

Irregular Verb Examples

• Go: Went (Ir: Fue)
• See: Saw (Ver: Vio)
• Eat: Ate (Comer: Comió)
• Take: Took (Tomar: Tomó)
• Have: Had (Tener: Tuvo)
• Be: Was/Were (Ser/Estar: Fue/Estuvo)

Using the Past Simple

• The past simple expresses completed actions.
• Specific time expressions often indicate when the action occurred.

Examples of Use

• I visited Paris last year. (Visité París el año pasado.)
• She studied English yesterday. (Ella estudió inglés ayer.)
• They went to the beach on Sunday. (Ellos fueron a la playa el domingo.)
• He ate breakfast this morning. (Él desayunó esta mañana.)

Affirmative Sentences

• Subject + Verb in Past Simple + (Complement)

Affirmative Sentence Examples

• I played the guitar. (Yo toqué la guitarra.)
• She watched a movie. (Ella vio una película.)
• We lived in London. (Nosotros vivimos en Londres.)

Negative Sentences

• Subject + did + not (didn't) + Verb in base form + (Complement)
• Use "did not" or "didn't" followed by the base form of the verb.

Negative Sentence Examples

• I didn't play the guitar. (Yo no toqué la guitarra.)
• She didn't watch a movie. (Ella no vio una película.)
• We didn't live in London. (Nosotros no vivimos en Londres.)

Questions

• Did + Subject + Verb in base form + (Complement)?
• Start the question with "Did", followed by the subject and the verb in its base form.

Question Examples

• Did you play the guitar? (¿Tocaste la guitarra?)
• Did she watch a movie? (¿Ella vio una película?)
• Did they live in London? (¿Ellos vivieron en Londres?)

Short Answers

• Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.
• Yes, she did. / No, she didn't.
• Yes, they did. / No, they didn't.

Common Time Expressions

• Yesterday (Ayer)
• Last week (La semana pasada)
• Last month (El mes pasado)
• Last year (El año pasado)
• Ago (Hace)
• In 2010 (En 2010)
• On Sunday (El domingo)

Additional Considerations

• Knowing the list of irregular verbs and their past simple forms is vital.
• Consistent practice is key to mastering the use of Simple Past.
• The pronunciation of the "-ed" ending can vary:
  • /t/ after voiceless sounds (ej: worked /wɜːrkt/)
  • /d/ after voiced sounds (ej: played /pleɪd/)
  • /ɪd/ after /t/ or /d/ (ej: wanted /wɒntɪd/)